Title: The Consequences
Author: iDontKissAndTell (fanfiction sites); peach12blossoms (Tumblr)
Fic Word Count: 1805 words
Pairing(s): Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger (Dramione)
Rating: T
Warnings (if any): Unresolved Sexual Tension, Cliche Head Boy/Girl Dorm sharing, 7th year in an alternate universe where the events of the last three books never occurred and Voldemort never came back to life (not that it's really important in this little fic)
Summary: Draco Malfoy is determined to steal and read the Head Girl's diary for "fun." And no, he was not hoping that he'd find anything about himself written in it. That was absolutely and completely preposterous.
Author's Notes: This was my (second) submission for the RC Challenge over at H&V. My first submission was quite a bit longer than this so I'm publishing this one first. Hope it's alright that I'm posting it here, lol :)
Also, the art that inspired this fic is by ponekad and it is entitled "Consequence of the Great Diary Theft" by ponekad (find her on )
Beta Readers: My favourite ladies in the entire universe, swirlsofblack thesydda
Disclaimer: In its use of intellectual property and characters belonging to JK Rowling, Warner Bros, Bloomsbury Publishing, et cetera, this work is intended to be transformative commentary on the original. No profit is being made from this work.
=1=
Draco Malfoy looked over the textbook he had been pretending to read and watched Hermione Granger as she flitted back and forth from her desk to her bedroom with tomes and parchments gathered in her arms.
He didn't understand why she wouldn't just leave all her things in the common room, seeing as it was her favourite spot to study in. As far as he could see, it was far too much of a schlep to carry all her books out of her room everyday and then carry them all back at the end of the night. It would make things easier for her if left all her things out and, more importantly, it would make it easier for him to carry out his devious plans.
With his face hidden behind the book, he smiled wickedly in anticipation as she donned her cloak and closed the door to her bedroom.
"I'm off to patrols, Malfoy," she said in passing as she crossed the room to the portrait door that led to the rest of the castle. "Try not to lure my cat into your bedroom again and leave him locked in there with you. It gives off the wrong impression."
Draco rolled his eyes as the portrait door closed behind her. She was just jealous. It wasn't his fault that her beloved Crookshanks liked him more than he liked her these days. If only she spent more time in the dorm with them – er, Crookshanks – maybe the cat wouldn't attach himself to Draco so much.
He waited fifteen beats before he got up from the couch he had been sitting on, jostling the poor cat that had been sleeping against his thigh in the process, and walked over to her bedroom door. There was something in there that he wanted – no, needed – and tonight was the only time during the week that he would have the chance to go in there and get it.
As clearly as he could, he uttered Hermione's password, which he'd cleverly discovered two days earlier by placing a Disillusioned, confiscated Extendable Ear right beside her door. He prayed to Salazar that he had heard it right. He smiled deviously when he heard the tell-tale sound of the door unlocking. Ignoring the reproachful meow of Granger's cat, he turned the doorknob and entered the room.
He was momentarily distracted by the delicate fragrance of the space. It smelled of her and her floral perfume – not that he'd actually memorized the way she smelled; that would be ridiculous and pathetic. For a moment, all he wanted to do was linger there and get drunk in the scent but he had work to do. He shook his head to clear all absurd and inappropriate thoughts and started rummaging around for Hermione Granger's diary, fully intending to read all of its contents once he found it. It was just for fun. It wasn't like he was hoping that he'd find anything about him written in it. No, that would be preposterous.
=2=
Hermione Granger closed the portrait door behind her and sighed heavily, not looking forward to the hour-long patrol she had to do with the pretentious Slytherin prefect, Theodore Nott. She really should have thought things through before she agreed to swap patrols with Hannah Abbott for one night. She had inadvertently subjected herself to an hour of unwelcome flirting from the Slytherin and for that, she detested herself.
She walked through the corridor as quietly as she could, not wanting to offend the sleeping portraits. Before she could get any further and deeper into her ridiculous fantasies about a particular intellectually engaging and eye-catching Head Boy, a strong vibration emanated from her wand that was clutched in her hand. Her brow furrowed – she'd forgotten what the vibration was for. When she finally remembered the trigger-spell she had placed on her bedroom door back when she still had little to zero trust for Draco Malfoy, her eyes immediately narrowed.
"That humongous git," she muttered sharply before she turned around and scurried back to the portrait door that led back to the Head's dorm. "Cristicola Exilis," she brusquely said to the knight in the painting. She hurried into the common room and her eyes immediately went to her bedroom door. She huffed in aggravation when she saw that it was wide open and marched her way towards it.
As soon as she got to the threshold, her wand pointed out in front of her, her glare zeroed in on the smirking blond sitting amongst the scattered clothing on the floor that had not been there when she left. He was holding something open in his hands: a small black book—
Hermione gasped, causing Draco's head to snap upwards. She could tell he was shocked at first for being caught red-handed with her diary but as the seconds ticked by, his expression slowly morphed into one of gleeful satisfaction.
Before she could even suck back the air that had left her before, he held up the book and teasingly wiggled his eyebrows. "So I'm 'incredibly smart and eye-candy material', huh?" he quoted with a smirk. Hermione's eyes widened, feeling the warmth on her cheeks. "So when were you going to tell me, in person, that I apparently have a 'delectable arse'?" he asked gleefully, his eyes twinkling.
And with those humiliating words, Hermione saw red and was spurred into action. "How dare you!" she yelled as she frenziedly waved her wand to summon the diary from his hands. "This is my room and, in case you haven't noticed, it is password-protected, which obviously means that anyone but myself is unwelcome. Avis!" She waved her wand again to conjure a flock of birds.
The loud blast that accompanied the appearance of bright yellow canaries caused Draco to jump and his smile to disappear. "Granger—" he started warily.
"And this?" She pointed at the book hovering in the air beside her, "This is my private diary! Private means that it's meant for my eyes only. You had no right to read it and I think we both know that you knew all this perfectly well, you absolute arse! Oppugno!" The third time she waved her wand caused the birds that were previously flying calmly around her head to dart towards Draco to start pecking at him.
There, that will teach him. Hermione could not help but smirk in satisfaction when he yelped and started swatting aimlessly at the birds attacking his head. "Granger, stop!"
"No, you deserve this, you git. You should have known that there would be consequences. Did you really think I would leave my bedroom unprotected from the likes of you?"
He didn't answer, too busy covering his face from the continued assault from the birds. After a few more seconds of punishment, with Draco now sprawled on the ground, Hermione waved her wand for the fourth and final time.
"Finite."
=3=
Draco relaxed as soon as the jinx was lifted. He breathed heavily, his grey eyes focusing on the Head Girl that was standing over him with her hands on her hips. "That was uncalled for," he said with a slight smirk, not finding it in himself to be angry. Not after what he had read.
"What the hell are you smirking about?" Hermione asked incredulously, still looking down at him. "I have just attacked you. You're supposed to be angrily stomping your way to the hospital wing to get your cuts healed right now."
Draco's smile widened and he turned his attention to the birds now calmly flying above his head. "How could I be angry right now when I've only just found out that the seemingly prudish Hermione Granger actually has a book full of her secret desires?" he teased, his hand reaching up to touch one of the canaries.
"You listen here, Malfoy," Hermione snapped. She placed a shoe-covered foot on his chest, effectively keeping him down on the ground, and menacingly pointed her wand at his groin. "You can forget about everything you read in my diary because now, thanks to you, there is no way any of it is going to ever happen, not that it was ever going to in the first place. It is also the last time you will hear or read me say anything nice about you, so I dearly hope you've got it all memorized."
"Oh, really?"
"Let me finish, ferret," she spat, causing Draco's smile to get even wider. Did she even know how utterly scrumptious she was whenever she would go off on an angry tirade?
"You are not to come into my room ever again. I don't know how you've managed to do it today but rest assured that this will be the last time."
We'll see, Draco thought mischievously.
"And while I'm at it, you are not to touch, look or breathe anywhere near my diary ever again, do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," Draco said, his lips still twisted up into a smirk. "Now will you please get your foot off my chest? I bruise easily." Hermione harrumphed but obliged. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued to glare at him as he stood up and started to brush off the area on his chest where her shoe had left a mark. "So... you think my arse is delectable, huh?" he couldn't help but say.
Her glare intensified and her cheeks reddened. "We are not going to talk about this occurrence, Malfoy. Not now and not ever."
He ignored her words and took a step closer to her, satisfied when her glare faltered at his nearness. In a low, honeyed voice, he said, "It's okay, Granger. I think yours is delectable, too."
She audibly gulped but retained her cool demeanor. "I don't really care what you think."
Draco hummed, not quite believing her. "If you ever change your mind about... acting out any of the things you've written in here," —he lifted a finger to tap on the floating diary beside her— "you know where to find me." He leaned down then and pressed a kiss on the frozen girl's cheek. He winked when her lips parted in surprise. "Good night, Hermione," he said, using her first name for the first time. "Sweet dreams."
And with that, he walked out of her bedroom and into his. As soon as his door clicked shut, he silently punched the air in triumph. To hell with it, there was no denying it any longer: he wanted Hermione Granger. And now that he knew she wanted him too, albeit grudgingly, he was not going to stop until she was his.
A/N: That is all. Thank you for reading! I hope you guys liked it. I kind of do :)
Read & Review :)